'skins Report Card: Defeat Shows Status

'Skins Report Card

October 10, 1995|By WARNER HESSLER Daily Press

One of Coach Norv Turner's favorite sayings is ``you are what you are.'' In other words, if you're a struggling football team like Turner's Washington Redskins, don't pretend that you're a playoff contender.

There were whispers in the Washington area last week about how the Redskins, fresh off a huge upset victory over Dallas, could get into the wild-card playoff hunt by beating Philadelphia and going on a roll. Some of those whispers even were heard in the Redskins' dressing room.

But, as Philadelphia's 37-34 victory in overtime proved, the Redskins are what they are - an improving team that can beat a championship-caliber team such as Dallas every couple of years and lose a lot of games in between to average teams. They are not at a point where they win games they think they should win.

The Eagles, incredibly, rushed for 272 yards and could have topped the 300-yard mark had seven rushes for 48 yards not been nullified by penalties. The Eagles, incredibly, totaled 524 yards of total offense and could have had close to 600 without the aforementioned penalties.

So, the Redskins are what they are - interesting and fun to watch, but they're not there yet.

QUARTERBACK. To be sure, Gus Frerotte made some mistakes. He tried to throw a 45-yard pass while being sacked and was intercepted. On another play, he was so intent on looking for a receiver that he didn't notice the pass rush and was separated from the ball. He did make some plays, though, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. He has quickly become a competent quarterback, but he is struggling to reach the next level. Grade: C.

RUNNING BACKS. Considering there wasn't much room to roam, Terry Allen did a decent job with 53 yards on 16 carries. Reggie Brooks wiped the cobwebs from his legs, saw his first action of the season and showed why he has been pushed into the background. He tiptoed his way to the line on two carries, twisted, squirmed and lost 1 yard on each rush. Grade: D.

RECEIVERS. Eagles cornerback Mark McMillian threw a blanket around Henry Ellard for most of three quarters, and Michael Westbrook didn't do anything special to get away from cornerback Bobby Taylor. The duo came to life in the fourth period and finished with a combined seven receptions for 139 yards. Ellard had two touchdown catches. Westbrook and tight end James Jenkins each dropped a pass. Grade: C.

OFFENSIVE LINE. It had a huge dropoff after dominating a superior Dallas line the week before. Defensive tackle Andy Harmon got past one-legged guard Tre Johnson for two sacks, then whipped replacement Vernice Smith for another sack. Frerotte was sacked three times and took seven hard hits after delivering the ball. Grade: D.

DEFENSIVE LINE. Just when you thought end Sterling Palmer was moving up to the next level, and just when you thought young William Gaines was becoming a solid run-plugger in the middle, they had a game like this. The Eagles ran 24 times to the left, at Palmer and Gaines, and collected 223 of their 252 total yards. Palmer and Gaines had 24 opportunities to make tackles, and both wound up with none. The line accounted for six of the 21 misses. Grade: F.

LINEBACKERS. The trio of Marvcus Patton, Rod Stephens and Ken Harvey combined for 21 stops, but most were downfield. They missed three tackles and allowed back Ricky Watters to gain 90 yards on 11 receptions. Grade: F.

SECONDARY. This was the worst game by a Washington secondary in a long time. Safeties Keith Taylor (six) and Stanley Richard (five) missed 11 tackles and allowed quarterback Rodney Peete to complete 30 of 45 passes for 256 yards. Cornerback Tom Carter had nine tackles, but six came after his man caught a pass. Grade: F.

SPECIAL TEAMS. Brian Mitchell showed how the league's best returner can influence a game. Before the Eagles stopped kicking to him, he returned kickoffs for 44 and 42 yards and ran a punt back 59 yards for a touchdown. When the Eagles stopped kicking to him, Washington returned two kickoffs and a punt to near midfield. The Redskins' average starting point on 14 possessions was their 42-yard line. The short field caused by Mitchell allowed Washington to stay close in a game it had no business winning. Eddie Murray made two of three field goals. Grade: A-minus.

COACHING. Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn takes the heat for this one. He couldn't help 21 missed tackles, but neither could he come up with defenses to slow the unexpected double-wing formation that Philadelphia used to collect most of its yards on the ground. Turner had nothing in his bag of tricks to rev up a Washington offense that totaled just 76 yards in the first half. Grade: D.